With a groan of metal leg braces, Seclorum leaned over the small wooden table and poured two glasses of whiskey. “Some things never change,” the old warrior muttered. “The wounds get bigger and the drinks get bitterer.”
“You call what you got a wound?” Josho sat on a stool across from him and nodded with his horn. “You look like a bird cage with features.”
“If I knew twenty years ago I would have ended up like this, I’d have chosen a sexier line of work.” Seclorum took a sip, grimaced, and exhaled sharply before continuing, “Or gone on a suicide mission. Like you.” His eyebrow raised. “Porting into enemy lines? Not knowing where you’d materialize? Heh… I thought that had killed you, old stallion.”
“Sometimes I wish it did,” Josho grumbled. “I ended up stuck as a provincial prime enforcer for Blue Slope. For years, I guarded that pathetic dump of a place. The Council of Ledo called it ‘strategic repositioning.’ It’s all just a bunch of fancy bullcrap to avoid calling it what it is.”
“Retirement?”
“I was going to say ‘meat packing,’” Josho said. “But that works.”
“Well, I couldn’t tell from looking at you,” Seclorum said. “There’s a strange… shine to your coat. Almost as if you’ve caught a second wind, Josho.”
“Yeah. Fancy that.”
“Here…” Seclorum slid the shot glass towards him. “Have one for old time’s sake.”
“Thanks, but no thanks.”
Seclorum did a double take. “I beg your pardon?”
Josho adjusted his weight on the stool, giving the glass a thousand-yard stare. “I don’t drink.” He cleared his throat. “Not anymore.”
Seclorum stared at him long and hard. “Now I know that something is different about you.” His eyes narrowed. “Did you settle down, Josho?”
“Nah. Not even a bullet to the head would make something like that happen, Secchy.” Josho sighed. “Look. Enough about you and me. I risked my neck getting here for one purpose.”
“The Xonans…”
Josho nodded. “They’re coming, Secchy.” He stared with cold, chiseled eyes. “And I don’t mean any regular battalion of them, or some company of grenadiers or serpent-summoners. This is the real deal, pal. They’ve captured Prime Enforcer Fortis’ battleship and are preparing to plow their way into Ledomaritan lines. In the wake of such a nasty punch, they’re gonna tear this Confederacy a new one with several support cruisers all backed by a floating headquarters minded by none other than the chief Xonan monarch herself.”
Seclorum exhaled the name coldly. “Lasairfion.”
“You bet your plot.”
“And you’re certain about this?” Seclorum squinted at him from an angle. “You can cross long distances, old friend, but there’s a certain gap of reasoning that still needs to be bridged here.”
Josho tongued the inside of his mouth. Then, with a sigh, he leaned forward and said, “Okay, look, let’s be real with each other here. This situation that we’re both in? The news I bring isn’t just important to you. We each have something to gain from this. You and your army won’t have to be obliterated. And as for me? I have friends in the field who could benefit from the Xonan offensive being expertly blocked.”
“What kind of friends?”
“Ponies who I give a crap about, alright?” Josho frowned. “Look, I was in a party of like-minded stallions and mules who found themselves on the receiving end of one too many manarifles.”
“You mean enemies of the state.”
Josho sighed and shook his head. “Look, I didn’t say that.”
“Josho…” Seclorum’s lips curved slightly. “Have you gone rogue?”
“If you must know, I was betrayed by my commanding officer who tried to have me smoked without telling any of his subordinates the truth.”
“Oh yeah? Who?”
“Shell.”
Seclorum blinked. He leaned back, his mouth hanging agape. “You mean to tell me that you’ve crossed paths with Prime Enforcer Shell?”
“Yeah…?” Josho blinked. “Why? Did the bastard finally croak?”
Seclorum slowly shook his head. “We lost contact with him weeks ago. He was stripped of his power by the Council of Ledo. However, the messenger who was sent to detain him on board the Steel Wing was never heard from again.”
Josho’s muzzle grew tight. “Knowing how bonkers Shell had already gone, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s taken the role of Prime Enforcer way too friggin’ seriously. He’s on a vengeful mission to complete a wild goose chase, and hundreds if not thousands of innocent ponies have suffered because of it.”
“I’d rather not second guess a soldier who knows how to get the job done--”
“At the cost of the security of this friggin’ Confederacy?!” Josho growled. “Don’t defend the freak, Secchy! Or you’re liable to turn nutso too!”
Seclorum sighed, staring off towards the far end of the tent.
“What’s going on here, buddy?” Josho leaned forward, his voice briefly quiet, tender. “We’ve been through enough scrapes in the past that I deserve to know. What’s gotten you so insanely driven to defend this plateau? What is worth the sacrifice of so many soldiers who deserve to retreat and protect their homeland? The Xonans are gonna wipe out everything you’ve got holed up here at this rate, and this isn’t even counting the armada I’m now warning you about!”
The general’s leg braces whirred as he scratched his scalp beneath his capped horn. “Ledo thinks this war is all about protecting her royal interests and driving out the tattooed hoarde. But it’s turned into something far greater than that.”
“Something greater?” Josho frowned. “Like what? Is this about Nightshade?”
“The mare has a great deal of insight over what’s at play upon the dark horizon--”
“None of that poetic mumbo jumbo crap!” Josho growled. “Not you too! How hard is she grabbing you by the balls, huh? What’s really at stake here?”
Seclorum stared icily at the obese pony. At last, he stood up with a rattle of his metal braces. “Here, old friend. Come with me…” He made for the exit of the tent. “What you’re about to witness is a triply guarded secret.”
“Pfft…” Josho smirked as he trotted after him. “Can’t be anything worse than what I saw when we used to go skinny-dipping along the southern camps.”